By Kirsten Allen
Eight Oregon writers will be reading from their works on Friday, Oct. 24 at the 21st annual Magic Barrel. Magic Barrel, a Corvallis fundraiser for Linn Benton Food Share, will be held at the Whiteside Theatre in downtown Corvallis.
The night will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with The Sideways Portal Sandbox, a Corvallis jazz band. Readings from a long lineup of writers will begin at 7 p.m., with the writers greeting listeners and signing books, available for purchase from Grass Roots Books & Music. Squirrel’s Tavern will be selling beer and wine by the glass all night, and complimentary dessert and hors d’oeuvres will be offered.
Portland’s Amanda Coplin, author of The Orchardist, a New York Times Best Seller, adds to the lineup of Oregon Poet Laureate Peter Sears and former Poet Laureate Lawson Fusao Inada. Also reading are Portland screenwriter Jon Raymond, who wrote Night Moves and Meek’s Cutoff, essayist Barbara Drake (Morning Light: Wildflowers, Night Skies, and Other Ordinary Joys of Oregon Country Life), and novelist Nick Dybek (When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man). Nature writer Abby Phillips Metzger (Meander Scars: Reflections on Healing the Willamette), essayist Dionisia Morales, and journalist and essayist Inara Verzemnieks (Oaks Park Pentimento: Portland’s Lost and Found Carousel Art) will also present. Oregon poet and essayist John Daniel will emcee the event.
A suggested donation of $9 will gladly be accepted; all funds go to Linn Benton Food Share to help battle hunger in the Corvallis Albany Community. Last year’s Magic Barrel attracted around 700 people and raised almost $7,000 for the food share.
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